Honkai: Husband-Chasing Crematorium

Kira: "Hey, gloomy man, do you believe in parallel universes? Not the kind of independent world bubbles… Uh, world bubbles... How do I even explain this to you? Never mind that. Parallel universes—you know what they are, right? Do you believe in them?"

Li Mo: "I do."

Li Mo's simple reply made Kira beam with a radiant smile.

Hey, this guy may not talk much, but at least he's polite. His response, while brief, was precise and on-topic—a far cry from the dismissive, offhand remarks she often encountered.

Kira saw this as an opportunity. She wanted to understand the kind of person Li Mo truly was through their conversation.

So focused was she on him that she failed to notice the pale white moon turning crimson once more, like a blood-swollen, pulsating eye staring down at the world, watching everything.

---

Kira: "I think so too! So, do you think the other versions of us in those parallel universes are also going through the same things we are now—chatting idly like this?"

Li Mo didn't answer immediately.

"…"

"…"

He thought long and hard.

Though his mind now worked at lightning speed, this question left him hesitant and uncertain.

Perhaps this universe itself is just one of those parallel worlds. The differences between countless parallel universes often boiled down to a single pivotal choice made by an important individual. A domino effect, to be precise.

In the version of the world he knew, Kira was nothing more than a game character who perished during the Second Eruption.

No—she hadn't died. She had crossed into another world, experienced extraordinary events, and returned.

In this timeline, they were at St. Freya Academy, during the school years of the Three Houses. Kira's appearance here meant that this world's version of her had not "died" in the Second Eruption.

From snippets of information, one could deduce that this world's Cecilia had also survived.

---

Parallel worlds…

Just like when I abducted Mei during my second traversal, Li Mo thought. In that parallel universe, Kevin had been sent to study in Australia due to family circumstances, while Li Mo, dealing with an anomaly, had ended up at Thousand Feathers Academy.

In that instance, the anomaly had spread globally. After nightfall, any place with statues became infested by ghosts within a ten-meter radius.

If one so much as glanced at these entities—even in a photograph—the ghosts would rush forward at an unfathomable speed to snap the neck of anyone who saw them.

It was disturbingly similar to the SCP Foundation's "Peanut." Containment was nearly impossible. Worse still, antisocial individuals had uploaded images of the ghosts to the internet, and within a month, major cities were nearly wiped out.

With Mei's help, Li Mo had managed to end that anomaly. However, by then, despair had engulfed the world. Even after the anomaly was contained, central cities had only a few thousand survivors left to fend for themselves. Rural areas likely harbored more survivors.

After a long pause, Li Mo finally spoke.

Li Mo: "If so, it's destiny. If not, we are unique."

He glanced at Kira.

"I'm grateful the I met you."

And not someone else—someone disobedient, arrogant, and insufferable.

His words, spoken with a cold, distant demeanor, carried a faint hint of ambiguity.

Li Mo, having lost much of his emotional capacity, struggled to grasp others' feelings. His words and actions were guided solely by objective facts.

---

The wind howled eerily, and the scattered heads in the hall seemed to stir before quickly falling still again.

---

Kira: "W-well… T-thank you..." she stammered, her voice barely a whisper.

Li Mo only heard indistinct murmurs—"uh, um…"—as she fumbled for words.

Kira turned her back to him, lips pressed together as her fingers twisted nervously, utterly at a loss.

The sudden blush revealed her flustered state.

Her gaze dropped to the past—a past that carried glimpses of the future. Within the confusion lay a tranquil possibility, serene as a fleeting dream of fish in the sky.

But the peace didn't last. A pained groan shattered their momentary respite.

---

Li Mo: "Urgh…!"

Veins bulged on his neck as an intense choking sensation overwhelmed him—albeit only briefly.

---

Kira: "What's wrong? What happened? Your expression looks terrible… Don't scare me in the middle of the night!" she asked anxiously.

Li Mo: "It's nothing… My neck just hurt for a moment."

He jumped to his feet, rubbing his neck. No cracks.

He was lying—it had hurt terribly. For a brief moment, he felt completely suffocated, as if his neck had been snapped. Fortunately, it hadn't lasted long.

Pain…?

After his second death, even a broken neck shouldn't have caused him to cry out. Whatever had just happened was something entirely different, something without warning.

---

As Kira examined him, she noticed faint handprints around his neck.

Kira: "There aren't any cracks, but… Why does your neck have marks? Like someone was gripping it tightly… Hold on, let me compare."

She pressed her hand against his neck—it was roughly the same size.

Kira: "It looks like… a girl's handprint? But it wasn't me! I swear, I didn't touch you!"

Li Mo: "I know," he replied flatly.

A handprint… the size of Kira's?

Was it… her?

---

Li Mo shook his head. He hadn't died yet—Kiana couldn't possibly appear. Unless… something had triggered an unpredictable shift in her behavior.

But what? He hadn't done anything.

If Kiana were to appear now, he'd likely perish instantly. They weren't on the same level.

---

Li Mo continued pondering.

Whatever he and Kira had done must have triggered some kind of behavioral anomaly in the Ghostly Kiana.

But it wasn't a killing pattern. If it were, pain wouldn't have been his only experience.

During his first death, he had experienced an overwhelming force. His body's anomalous abilities had instantly gone dormant, and even anomalous items—like the coin, thermometer, and pistol—had been completely suppressed.

This time, the strangulation seemed to be just a warning.

But all he had done was answer one of Kira's wildly imaginative questions. If merely chatting with her triggered a pattern, he should have been strangled long before now.

"Let's change positions for the night. Stay out of the moonlight," Li Mo instructed, his voice heavy. His neck felt like it had been plunged into an ice chamber—bone-chillingly cold. Still, his second death had greatly dulled his pain perception, so he could endure it.

Fortunately, Kiana only seemed to appear after his death, at least until the funeral was over.

Yet, Li Mo's curiosity deepened.

What had happened in this world's past to turn Kiana into something so grotesque?

Li Mo hadn't felt this kind of pressure in a long time. He had no clear strategy for containment.

Kira followed Li Mo deeper into the auditorium, near the black coffin.

The flickering incense cast dim, wavering light on the eerie funeral portrait. The portrait of Li Mo on the tablet seemed to have changed—the broken neck was now distorted, and crimson handprints marked it.

Drip. Drip.

In the darkness, the sound of dripping water was unusually sharp. The survivors Li Mo had brought together huddled in one group, while Kira's team clustered near the black coffin, all asleep.

No one noticed the water sound fading away. On the funeral portrait, the blood no longer seeped from the picture's eyes. The eyes became fully clouded, the expression twisted in pain.

Thick, viscous blood dripped onto the incense, dimming its flame. The black-red liquid seemed intent on extinguishing it entirely.

Just as the final drop was about to eliminate the faint flame, Li Mo stepped in front of the black coffin. The blood abruptly reversed its flow, retreating back into the portrait.

None of the Valkyries or students sleeping near the black coffin noticed.

A new ghost had entered the auditorium, attempting to erase its ability to block the perception of spirits.

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